Some people think aiming to lose 175 pounds is insane. For me, it is the only way to get there. When I've set "impossible" goals in a business setting, I've always made them. I get excited and motivated. Small goals don't interest me at all.

There's only so much Febreeze a parent can go through before the fumes start to attack the nervous system. Instead of fighting the frustration of no longer being able to see my feet over my boobs, I'm channeling it into wine-tinged poetry.

The Dec. 9, 2013, issue of The New Yorker published a detailed but rather misguided article by Ian Parker, "The Big Sleep," about the complicated tangle of profit, science, and psychology in the search for better drugs to aid sleep.

I sleep like a baby, which is to say I sleep in short spurts throughout the night and wake up abruptly at inconvenient hours feeling kind of cranky. For years now, I have fallen asleep easily but rarely am able to stay asleep. I wake up at the slightest noise or light. I wake up when my husband moves the top sheet a millimeter.

I announced that I finally understood what everyone had been saying about how alcohol was a clear gateway to drugs, a fact I'd never known before because I'd always done drugs all the time -- without ever needing alcohol to ease the transition or give me the idea.

In recent years studies have begun to link chronic partial sleep deprivation to serious physical health consequences. Regularly catching only a few hours of sleep can hinder metabolism and alters hormone production in a way that is similar to the effects of aging.

After placing my carry on bag in the overhead compartment I sank into the luxurious econ chair and clicked my seatbelt into place. My fellow traveler, Ambien, was jumping up and down in my purse beckoning me with promises of slumber and sweet dreams.

There's more news about complications that can arise from prescription sleep medication: Side effects from a common prescription sleep aid are sending increasing numbers of people to emergency departments.

The professional sports world appears to be continuing to turn more of its attention to what has been a much-overlooked issue: sleep. This time, it's the National Hockey League that is addressing sleep problems on several fronts.

The joy of a good night's sleep just can't be overstated. Somewhere around my 50th birthday, I lost the ability to get one. I went from being someone who could shut her eyes and not open them for eight hours to a person who now does a victory lap around the bed if I manage four hours in a single stretch.